Dragon Hill & Chinese Hat
The dry season is known as the “garúa” time; this local word is used to describe the fine mist that covers the islands during the cold months. But today something was different… as we went to the outer decks we felt the strong equatorial sun shining. The sky was light blue and the water around us was the most beautiful turquoise color. It seems that the dry and cold season is coming to its end.
The discoveries continued as we disembarked on Santa Cruz Island, in a place known as Dragon Hill. After some minutes walking we found some beautiful flowers! Prickly pears’ flowers have started to bloom! Definitely we are starting our warm season again! But today we saw the best of both seasons: the scenery was still desolate, the Palo Santo trees do not have their foliage yet, and the grasses are all dry. We found a few Galápagos land iguanas; we could see how they are struggling to survive, as there is nothing to eat but cacti.
On the other hand, there is hope for land life; we heard Darwin finches and Galápagos mocking birds starting their songs. We found more plants with flowers and a couple of plants with brand new leaves. I thought to myself, how amazing is to be here long enough so I can see these changes happening. Soon, together with the warm season, the rain will come, more vegetation will cover the islands, and iguanas will start their mating season; for another year, life will go on.
Another big surprise waited for us: a couple of brightly colored greater flamingos were spotted in a shallow brackish lagoon. After the sunny walk, we came back to get ready for our morning snorkeling outing. The water is warming up slowly too, but it is still cold enough to see marine life at its best!
In the afternoon we arrived at Chinese Hat islet. In this exotic destination we had a relaxed afternoon with various activities for everybody: beach time, snorkeling, kayaking and Zodiac rides. Everybody enjoyed the marine life, the scenery, and the animal sightings, such as Galápagos penguins on the shoreline.
We had the privilege to enjoy the best of two different worlds in the Galápagos Islands today. The transition between these two seasons will mark the biodiversity in our archipelago. Where on earth can you see a penguin and a flamingo in the same day? Well… we did it here today, in the amazing Galápagos Islands!
